How the teams are coping with the weather in Qatar
This year the FIFA World Cup has changed its usual dates from June/July to November/December.
Due to the decision to award hosting duties to Qatar, changes have been required to the calendar because of the country’s climate.
The World Cup odds are still relatively hard to gauge, each team has now played at least once, but as expected there’s still plenty of debate. The change in the calendar has seen so many players coming into the tournament mid-season in their club calendar. Usually, national team managers will have more time to prepare, and players would have had a chance to rest.
Qatar is a tiny Gulf State, a boiling hot desert which will have temperatures around 40 degrees centigrade in the summer months, forcing its move to November and December.
Even with this change, the stadiums have still been built with air-conditioning to make the experience more comfortable for fans, as well as the players on the pitch.
They are like climate-controlled bubbles which sees air blown from the side pitch to cool the air for the players as well as angular ducts beneath seats in stadiums to keep the stands at a temperature of 24-26 Degrees Celsius.
The key issue in Qatar will be the humidity which can rise to 71 percent, something which a lot of the European based players especially will not be familiar with. The humidity will often also be higher inside the stadiums, so even with cooling facilities, this can cause issues for players.
Teams will need to be prepared for the heat in the stadiums, there is only so much the air conditioning can do. It will be hotter than most places many of the world’s top players will have played at before.
The high pressing and athletic sides such as the United States Men’s National Team will have to be prepared for the need to slow the game down at times. This has been something that has been tough for the USMNT who struggled to break teams down in qualifying when being left with the majority of the possession.
Japan is another high pressing side, full of energy and creativity, who may find it hard to stick to their usual gameplan. In September they outclassed the USMNT in a friendly, coming out way on top of two sides who are trying to use a similar game model.
Holders France may find it tough a well through the expectation that surrounds them to dominate games and excite their fans back home. When you have players like Kylian Mbappe who can sprint past players at will, attacking full backs and hardworking midfielders, they are expected to control games and score frequently.
Should the heat and humidity make their usual gameplan too difficult to keep up for 90 minutes, teams will try to frustrate them for as long as possible. The expectations could force them to play against their opponents as well as the conditions which could be a recipe for disaster for Didier Deschamps.
Some teams who may have an edge when it comes to being prepared for the climate include neighbors Saudi Arabia and Iran, while also teams like Senegal and Ecuador.
For Saudi Arabia and Iran, they have similar climates and a number of players who still play in their local leagues. While the quality of the leagues may not be of the levels many other will come to the tournament from, they will come in more prepared.
Both sides will defend deep and look to make timed and dangerous counter attacks when possible. They will not chase the game which other, more favored sides, may do to them.
While nations will do all they can to prepare their players for the conditions, until they are out and playing, there will no doubt be changes and adaptations to game plans.
For teams like Senegal, their majority of their players have been brought up in similar conditions. The humidity in the country can often be much higher than that in Qatar during November and December.
Being led by Sadio Mane, while also having a wide selection of world-class talents, Senegal go into this World Cup as an exciting outsider who could cause a number of teams a lot of problems.
Ecuador as well have some extreme climates to cope with back home. Situated on the equator, the country is humid throughout most of the year. Combining that with the high altitude of Quito, the team are well prepared for difficult conditions and able to adapt their game accordingly.
They have a number of exciting young players too who are keen to surprise a few at the World Cup. This is all bad news or the Netherlands who go into Group A with Qatar, Senegal, and Ecuador. They will be the side with the least preparation for the conditions the weather will bring to the games.
Whoever ends the tournament victorious will have shown their ability to acclimatize to the conditions, it will take more than names on the team sheet to lift the trophy come December 18th.